ORIGIN

Wooden Gull: 1955 Mercedes Benz 300SL From Teak

You might read plenty of fake stories online today, but it looks like this is actually true. This 1:1 replica of a 1955 Mercedes Benz 300SL has been made entirely from wood by a German craftsman. Find it here on eBay in Duisburg, Germany.

We’re wondering if this one ought to occupy a space in the garage or the living room. The doors look like the raise properly but do not look as thick as the factory upholstered units. The car almost looks larger than the real article when shown next to the person above. Note the drawings on the walls in the background, it looks as if the car is photographed in the spot where it was created.

The dash and interior looks reasonably accurate, and the listing states that the steering is functioning. We wonder if the wheels turn so that it could be rolled into position.

Of courst the essential 300SL fitted luggage was also recreated. We like the look of the hubcaps too.

It is difficult to tell how exacting this replica was made in a few small photos, but it is as near as we have ever seen. It is also a plus that it was crafted in Germany, as the craftsmen we know from there have still got it.

This one is offered for about 5000 EUro, or the price of a yearly service on your real gullwing. We can’t help but wonder where this one will end up.

Fun idea, but the proportions are horribly off, which makes me think it was made somewhere in the Orient or India. And those brass hinges only reinforce that theory. Probably can get teak cheap over there, if you know the right people.

They have the same capacity of collecting dust in the garage, but come next winter I can burn this in a “Madman’s Christmas Act of Rage”, instead of listening to the same “Is it ever gonna run?” question from the whole family, for the 5th Christmas in a row…

I think that using this much wood to make a copy of a car is a world-class no-class idea. Pine is bad enough, teak much worse. I’m not opposed to huge models of cars, it’s the idea that all that wood was wasted that bothers me. if this is teak- and the color suggests it is, I haven’t looked at the other links- it is a regrettable waste of a limited resource. If it is pine or fir- well, all those 2x4s would have made someone a room on their house.

I did think the comment about the Morgan was funny, though. Wit is yet alive.

If anyone is still interested I’m pretty sure I know how this prank was carried out. A small diorama was built with probably a 1/8 scale model in it and photographed inside a real garage using the placement and depth of field to create the illusion. If you have not seen the photography (and models) of Paul Michael Smith check this out. http://www.flickr.com/photos/24796741@N05/sets/72157604247242338/show/with/2346008881/ I believe the woody Benz was done the same way.

Wooden you know it, it’s already been cut down from ebay. I am gonna go out on a limb and guess they really came crawling out of the woodwork for this one. I wish I could carve out the time for such a project. No mention of how the trunk looked. I hope the buyer can see the forest for the trees on this one. I’ll be rooting for the buyer though.

BigNick: Not sure how you’d build an artistic Morgan replica, but if you want a streetable replica, build the body and frame the way you would a Lotus 7-inspired car, but trim the interior Morgan-style and use a small-block Chevy V8 and the suspension/brakes/rear axle out of a Camaro, or use Vega/Monza bits and an Ecotec if you don’t want a Plus 8 replica.

Been a while since one listing awarded this many thumbs up on comments!

I guess this was the April Fools then? The “car” looks real enaugh, but just not for sale (Or crackpipe price)? And by the looks of things he’s working on the convertible version right next to it? I think i spied the same flares and airvents on that convertible body.

Doubt it’s Photoshop job or a vinyl wrapped real car simply because of the cheap cabinet hinges he’s used to hold the doors up and on.

Compared to the guy standing next to the car, it looks like it’s vastly out of scale as well, but that could be just the pictures fooling me. More like a 1.25/1 scale. Why, when you make something like this, would you make it to the “wrong” scale and use the same crap hinges you’d find on the cheapest piece of furniture with a lid you can find? I can’t see money being the limiting factor here in any respect. In fact, a vast surplus of currency is likely the reason it exists in the first place.

But there are many things i don’t understand about why a talented craftsman would want to spend any part of his life making THIS.

The hardest thing to believe in this story is how those doors are held up by those flimsy little things . I guess the woodwork is comparable to carbon fibre in weight, i don’t know.

Complaining about the teak being used for this rather than a boat seems like a moot point to me as they would both be using the material simply to make a “decadent toy” *look* good. You should see what they use the stuff for in south Asia! Besides it’s being sustainably grown these days, so it’s not like it’s a limited resource we need to preserve for future generations.

But hey, the boat would undoubtedly look better in my eyes as well than this creation does. It would make a slight difference in practicality, though teak boats tend to see as much use as this thing will.

last photo has what looks like wooden seats…quality and style seems matching to car

the earlier shots look like upholstered seats of quality….not up to par with rest of car

some shadows on floor seem appropriate some seem missing …

Help me out knowledgable photo people..The photos look so real [although I find many things to question in them but I know little about photoshopping]…this has got me wasting other blog reading time…hee hee

perhaps its just the price thats akin to an April first joke…or as some are saying the resources

or will we see these turn up on the shelf of the local $2 shop down at the mall next to the dubious scale VW combi with a surfboard .

This is a ridiculous idea. As a boater, I think of all the teak decks that would have made and it makes me sick. This is real triumph of skill over taste and sense. At least metal wasn’t alive before you made it into a car.

This seems to be an amazing listing well in Trojan proportions anyway.

It leads me to add.. “Beware of Greeks [well balinese] bearing gifts” well on April 1st anyway…

perhaps using the German emphasis on this saying. “Ein Danaergeschenk”

and dealing with ebay always…“Vorsicht vor falschen Freunden,”

or beware the Trojan Horse….[ein Trojanisches Pferd].

It Is not what it seems…perhaps this car is the ultimate in CARBON CREDITS…imagine how much carbon is actually stored in that car [not released]….no do gooders trying to make this teak manufacturer comply with emissions like “make this teak wonder..CARBON NUETRAL” as it is actually carbon negative..

way to go…everyone is happy

April 1st or not..this is one great deal or one great joke…congrats.

ps: no animals were hurt in this reply and any thought of me speaking german is just an April 1st joke…oh sorry April 2nd joke here in Australia. [possibly Bali’s biggest market…hee hee..]

I’ll bet some big Euros that Mercedes will, in fact, be upset, and completely overlook the wonderful workmanship.

The truly smart PR move for them would be to buy it (who wouldn’t be proud to have this artwork in their lobby or museum) and merchandise the heck out of it as “one Mercedes enthusiast’s timeless, hand-made tribute to the brand he loves… ” The German craftsmanship really enhances the story — nationalism and all.

This is both gorgeous and really unique. I can see a story about it being picked up on a global scale — anywhere Mercedes has presence, which is just about everywhere,this would be relevant and interesting. That’d be a lot of bang for 5000 Euros. But Mercedes probably won’t see it that way… Sad.

“Dieses Angebot wurde beendet.” Whatever the hell that means, but I’m assuming it means the show’s over or the Buy it Now was met. I’m thinking that this was a smaller scale model p-shopped or otherwise made to appear 1/1 – or someone paid below slave labor rates and is going to have to build a bigger living room.

Interesting that they don’t show any under body photos. At this price, I wonder if the seller may be covering up dry rot. Check under the fenders for sure. I’ve heard these feel pretty stiff on the road anyway. Forgetaboutit.

Teak is as hard as rocks and will ruin sharp blades and tools. This is an incredible feat. I see the roadster next to it…….crazy man. The finish should be a system of oils that preserve the color and does not have a surface build up, and the color is too pretty to stain. If left outside and untreated it would turn ashen gray as on a boat. The comments today are the best.

~ you must admit that it is a work of art whether you like or don’t. Robert Cumberford’s la` Martinique is the preferred option for driving wood. moves under it’s own power, & looks more graceful, too.

“We import directly from Indonesia and it is our task to make this beautiful world to bring Deuthschland. From this perspective, you buy from us directly, as in Indonesia!

This will benefit the small, rural communities directly from their production craftsmanship, we work directly with them to finance, raw materials and the work.

Of course, you will benefit from this as the end user direct purchase ….. but we are also an expensive business at the Kings or the Sevens … for the ultimate consumer pays the rent … unless he buys there.”

Looks like they can also build you a MG TC or a Ferrari Testa Rossa from the plans hanging on the wall.

I drove this one. Passed on it, because the damn thing gave me splinters in my ass and my hands! Plus, with all the varnish on it, the car has no road manners. The wood swells in the rain, and cracks in the dry. The new owner will need to be content driving this in a vary large climate-controlled room, and just gaze longingly at it!

German customs have just seized a 300SL bodyshell that was illegely copied (according to Daimler) and it will meet the chopper.

And a 500K roadster, auctioned by RM auctions in Monterey and sold to a Dutch owner has also been confiscated. Seems the German family saw Grandpa Hanz’s 500K at the yearly Techno Classica Essen motorshow where it was on display. $3.767000 he paid for it.

I am so impressed with our sharp-witted BAT readers!! Bunch-o-great comments! LOL!! These are great! …as for the wood, Ya know, if this guy had put in this kinda time working at McDonalds and saved the Euro’s, he probably could have bought the real thing! …But, he must really enjoy carving, so to each his own!

As noted by others, Mercedes destroys replicas. They ought to be getting pretty hot under the collar about another replica infringing on their design trademark, especially in their own back yard. Achtung! This is not acceptable. Get the Classic Team assembled right away. We have another job to do and show these aficionados that we will not stand for such indiscretions.

I am a scale modeler and think this is about as cool as it gets. Can only imagine the time it took to make and I imagine using Teak wasn’t the most cost effective material, but WOW. I love it. Gotta share this with my model buddy geeks. :o) “Q”